The Primeval Sands
by 16Doobop13
Summary: Three new Trainers from different walks of life collide with the harsh environment of the arid and unforgiving Glipho region and each other, but they will have to work together to survive through gang violence, extreme weather storms, corrupt officials, and the enigmatic Team Cipher, all while uncovering the secrets of the ancient civilizations that are buried beneath the sands.


The region of Glipho, an arid region, comprised of mostly mountains, valleys, and desert dunes, though various natural parks are scattered throughout the area, and the great Seel Sea in the southeast sources enough water to the region's inhabitants that they can live normal lives.

It can get blisteringly hot during summer days in Glipho, and unbearably cold on winter nights.

This region, Glipho, is steeped in what appears to be endless history. Even now, ancient settlements are being discovered beneath the ever shifting sands, or in long forgotten caves at mountain summits.

There are no pokemon in Glipho that cannot be found in other regions, but Glipho makes up for that by having many pokemon, sometimes even with large populations of pokemon thought to be severely endangered in other areas of the region.

The Glipho starter pokemon that new trainers can visit Professor Chitalpa to receive on the journey are meant to aid the new trainer through the harsh wilds that comprise so much of the region.

Aspiring Glipho Trainers can choose from

Baltoy,

Slugma,

Snorunt

To be their starter pokemon, each one acclimated to a different, ever-present biome in Glipho.

Baltoy is at home in the desert sands. Slugma makes the dark cavernous tunnels and ash-strewn forests its home, while Snorunt likes to seclude itself to the mountaintops.

The Pokemon League, in Glipho, acts mostly like it does in any other region. There are eight gyms that trainers must obtain badges from in order to be able to compete in the Glipho Pokemon League Tournament. Unlike other regions, however, the Glipho Region's gyms do not specialize in pokemon type, but rather certain themes that their team emulates, forcing challenging trainers to adopt more complex strategies than simply training up a single pokemon with a type advantage.

The Elite 4 are also changed from their nigh-monotype teams in other regions, and are simply previous Pokemon League Champions, defeated by newer ones.

These elite trainers and gym leaders, however, do not run the region alone. Professor Chitalpa and her colleagues also do a lot of administrative work, having even developed their own PC network for the Glipho Region from scratch.

Thanks to its largely untouched natural preserves and vast expanses of wilderness, Glipho as a region is a veritable font of untapped knowledge and potential, pulling in all sorts of people.

…

…

…

Some much more dangerous than others.

* * *

16Doobop13 Presents

The Primeval Sands

Episode 0: Unwelcoming Party

* * *

_Location: East Loza Town_

"_Please_?" Sylvia batted her styled lashes at the assistant to Professor Chitalpa and brushed her long dyed green hair behind her ear, exposing her neck and letting her perfume do its work.

"I've been waiting for _forever_, don't you think I can just have _one_ pokemon?"

"W-well…" The assistant blushed with a sheepish green, "Maybe we can make a- GAH!"

He was startled by the sudden opening of the door to the town's research lab as a young man with long blonde hair that extended far past his shoulders and golden eyes that reflected the sun stepped out onto the streets of East Loza.

"Thank you again, for your time, Professor!" He bowed courteously to the dark-skinned, bespectacled woman in a lab coat, leaning on the door with her arms crossed.

"It was a pleasure, Vethrian." Professor Chitalpa replied. "I trust you will take good care of your new pokemon, yes?"

"You have my word." Vethrian nodded before heading off. Professor Chitalpa's smile then became a frown as she turned to Sylvia and her assistant outside the lab. She pointed at the assistant.

"You. I don't pay you to flirt with passerby, I pay you to make sure my visits to aspiring trainers aren't interrupted by people like _her_."

"Hey, I'm only doing this because your damn application form requires a guardian's permission, and I can't get one!" Sylvia huffed as she backed off of the assistant. "Why can't you just allow walk-ins, or why can't you let us decide for ourselves when to travel like most _other_ regions?"

"Because Glipho isn't like most _other_ regions." Chitalpa tightened her crossed arms and pursed her lips. "It's dangerous and primitively wild outside of the cities. There are no paved routes to walk on, and not everyone you meet in-between towns will be all too friendly. Why, then, do you think a girl who attempts to seduce my assistant before coming to me personally with her problems should even be _considered_ to receive a pokemon? Let alone be _given_ one."

Sylvia's red eyes narrowed in disdain.

"I can never come to you personally, because you always have your assistants stop me at the door."

"Then why not call?"

"I don't have a phone. It's related to why I can't get a guardian's signature. Professor, I've grown up on the streets here, quite literally. All I own are the clothes on my back and the cosmetics in my bag, and I had to earn them all."

"She's telling the truth you know." A voice came out from nowhere.

Chitalpa and Sylvia turned to see a boy Sylvia's age, with tanned skin, golden blonde hair, and piercing emerald eyes.

"And you are?" Chitalpa asked.

"Oh, just a local." The boy grinned confidently with an exaggerated bow. "Sylvia here dances every night in the town square. It's one _hell_ of a show, if I do say so myself. I've even tipped her on occasion."

"Funny that I don't remember seeing your face." Sylvia crossed her arms. "But you do know my name and profession, so what, may I ask, is your name?"

"Oh, how rude of me. What a mis-step on my part." The boy shook his head before rising up from his bow and holding out his hand to both Chitalpa and Sylvia to shake, even though he was quite the distance from either of them.

"Oswald Pamesi, the pleasure is entirely mine. I was under the impression that one Vethrian Calderon would be stopping by this building today, but I appear to have just missed him. If you'll excuse me-"

"Hold on, now." Chitalpa stopped Oswald before he could leave. "Vethrian's heading up to Loza City, and it's too dangerous to let you go there without a pokemon of your own. I'll tell the gate guards to block you."

"Oh, Chitalpa, such a stubborn look doesn't suit such a beautiful woman!" Oswald laughed. "I'm not going there without a pokemon!" He brought his hand out from behind his back and tossed a pokeball up in the air, before catching it.

"To be honest, I was hoping to snatch the one Vethrian ended up choosing, but this one works well for what I need to do as well. Thanks for the freebie, love you lots!"

He turned to Sylvia. "And I'll tip you extra big next time I can see _you_ dance, gorgeous!"

And with that, Oswald began to run off.

"Don't just stand there!" Chitalpa shouted at her assistant. "Go stop him! He's taken one of the pokemon meant for _legal_ aspiring trainers!"

Sylvia noticed her chance.

"Professor!" She announced. "I'll catch him, and bring him back! You should still have one last starter pokemon for me, right?"

"Sylvia, it might be better for me to just call my Loza City assistant and tell them to set up a barricade. I don't see what-"

"There's no guarantee that Oswald's heading to Loza City, but as long as we're here in East Loza, I can catch him! I know this town like the back of my hand! Let me prove to you that I can use whatever that pokemon you have is, let me earn the right to become a Glipho registered pokemon trainer!"

Chitalpa's mouth curved into a smirk. "I'm starting to like your spunk, kid." She turned, her lab coat getting caught in the wind, and disappeared into her building, before emerging with a pokeball.

"This is the last pokemon of the set that Vethrian chose from. And here, a pokedex, outfitted with a cell phone function. You have my contact information on it. Catch that thief, and give me a ring when you do. I'm still concerned you might be playing me for a chump, so I also want you to find Vethrian, and have him report to me when you do as well. We're too far south of Arteiguna so we can't rely on a Gym Leader for this. Don't make me regret this decision, Sylvia."

"I won't!" Sylvia smiled as she caught the pokeball and pokedex. "I promise Professor, You'll be glad you gave me this chance!"

* * *

_Location: Route 1_

"Shit, shit, shit, shit" Oswald kept mumbling under his breath as he rushed north with his ill-gotten pokeball. "Why did I let them know? It's Sylvia's fault. That hot belly dancer bitch made me want to show off for her, now Chitalpa fucking _knows my name_ and that was one of the two things I was supposed to avoid!"

"Dril?"

"Dril!"

"Dril! Drilbur!"

A whole gaggle of Drilbur popped up from the ground and began to stare Oswald down.

They could tell he was fresh meat, inexperienced with pokemon.

He looked down at his pokeball, and frowned.

"Sorry little buddy. You definitely don't deserve to get dragged into this mess, but I need help and you're the only one who can do it."

He tossed it and sent out his ill-gotten pokemon, effectively claiming ownership of it, and committing the _second_ action he was supposed to avoid (sending out the stolen pokemon).

Thankfully, only sending it out was enough to scare the Drilber off, but Oswald knew to expect the call that came through on his modified pokedex.

"Pamesi! What the hell was that? I thought I told you to keep the stolen pokemon _concealed_!"

"I was in a bind" Oswald replied. "I could've died."

"And one of our own could have taken it off your corpse!" The voice on the other end snidely remarked. "Whatever. You still have the other two, get them back here."

"Actually…"

"What the _fuck_, Pamesi?!" The voice shouted through his ear piece. "Even if you were late, and the trainer got his starter, _you_ should still have the other two! What happened to the last starter, why didn't you take it?"

"Well, see there was this supremely hot chick right, you should have seen her. Long green hair, red eyes, fair skin, the _sexiest_ belly dancer outfit."

"Are you telling me that you intentionally left a third of our target so that it could be taken by some goddamn harlot you might never see again?"

"No, no." Oswald forced a laugh. "I just wanted to be all mysterious and impress her, so I made my exit prematurely."

"I think I've heard enough, Pamesi. You've been compromised. I'm sending a cleaner to eliminate you before you talk to the wrong person. Goodbye."

The call cut out.

"Crap." Oswald sighed as he sat down on the beaten path to catch his breath.

He looked at his pokeball, housing what was now his pokemon.

"Guess there's only one way to stay on top of this mess, isn't there new buddy? We're in it together now."

"Buzzz!" The Mandibuzz began to circle overhead as Oswald lay in the street.

"Even they know something awful is about to happen to me." He chuckled at the sight before forcing himself up.

"Welp, no point in letting anyone get me out here. Loza City, here I-...no way…"

Oswald grinned as he noticed Vethrian up the road, out in the dunes, looking over something.

"There you are!" He exclaimed with glee as he rushed up to the confused trainer.

"Yes, I am here." Vethrian responded. "Did you come to inspect the debris too?"

"You bet!" Oswald nodded, and lied confidently, as he squatted near Vethrian and the two looked over what, to Oswald, amounted to nothing more than a bunch of singed rocks.

"They aren't quite old enough to be considered ancient, but they are certainly from a structure that once stood here, probably multiple centuries ago!"

"Oh really?" Oswald asked. "What kind of structure? I'm more of a prospector myself."

Half-truth. Oswald's favorite kind of lie. Nailed it.

"Probably nothing special, a small house most like." Vethrian estimated before dusting the sand off of his robes and standing up.

"I suppose the research will have to wait until we're back in the city proper however. Not the best wi-fi out here."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Oswald grinned. "The name's Oswald by the way! Professor Chitalpa wanted me to catch up to you, said she forget to give you something, so you should probably head back to East Loza."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'd welcome your company, if you'd be so kind."

"Huh?" Oswald hadn't banked on this recluse actually wanting another human around. He just wanted to send as many trainers in the opposite direction of him as possible.

"My pokemon hasn't been fairing terribly well, admittedly" Vethrian reasoned, "and I'd rather not waste the potions I've stocked up on just yet, especially without the means to win the money to buy more, so you must have a pokemon of your own. If we team up, we should be fine."

Oswald could feel the sweat leaking through his pink polo shirt.

What was with this guy?

* * *

_Location: East Loza Outskirts_

Vethrian did not trust this man. This man who had called out to him like a friend. Vethrian's friends were all from a region far from here, and would have no intention to join him on a ridiculous archeological tour of a region as unforgiving as Glipho.

This man who wished for Vethrian to go the way he came, yet seemed hesitant to accompany him.

This man was either a danger to Vethrian, or someone who would soon attract someone or something that _was_ a danger to Vethrian.

Vethrian however, was the last person to fear danger. His thoughts, perhaps incorrectly, but from his point of view, logically, turned towards the rubble of what he assumed was a house.

This man had only shown up when he started investigating that area. Perhaps it was more important than just a mere home of centuries past. Perhaps it housed some valuable artefact or tome of forgotten wisdom. His thoughts began to race about what might be buried under all that sand, but he was soon brought back to reality when the strange belly dancer girl he had seen when exiting the East Loza Lab ran out to meet both him and the man that he did not trust.

"I've got you!" She announced as she held out a pokeball. "Vethrian, that man...whew...out of breath…"

"It's okay…" Oswald assured her. "Take your time and catch your breath, meanwhile...I'll-"

He backed up into the chest of a tall and imposing woman, surrounded by three grunts, wearing what appeared to be repurposed police outfits. The woman herself was wearing what appeared to be judges' robes.

"You'll be going nowhere." She snapped as the three grunts readied pokeballs, and a Xatu appeared next to her. She looked at the grunts. "Deal with the dead man and the loose ends, then come back to the hideout. Xatu, we have more important business to attend to."

"Xaaa!" The Xatu announced as both she and the pokemon teleported away, leaving the three grunts.

"Right, easy enough!" One of the grunts laughed as all three sent out their pokemon. "Time to lose your lives to Tim, Tom, and Tam!"

"Mienfoo!" Tim called.

"Venipede!" Tom yelled.

"Farfetch'd!" Tam announced.

"I don't know who you three guys are, but you're getting in the way of my pokemon journey!" Sylvia turned her anger towards the grunts. "I'll take the Venipede, I assume I can leave the others to you two, Vethrian, Oswald?" She looked at Vethrian and Oswald respectively.

"You assume correctly." Vethrian nodded.

"I mean, yeah, anything to keep me _alive_ longer." Oswald was perfectly okay with teaming up just this once. "Especially if my savior is a gorgeous girl like yourself!"

Vethrian didn't quite understand what was going on, but he did know that he was prepared for emergencies like these.

"Go, Babel!" He shouted. "We'll take the Mienfoo!"

"Leura!" Sylvia announced. "Time to squash that Venipede!"

"Artemis!" Oswald gave his pokemon a name on the spot. "That leaves the Farfetch'd for us!"

All three new trainers sent out their pokemon, a Baltoy, Slugma, and Snorunt respectively, and their fight to start their pokemon journey began.

"Artemis, Ice Shard!" Oswald announced to start the battle. He would be damned if he let anyone else get the first hit in.

"Snoo!" Artemis jeered as she summoned a pellet of hardened ice from condensing the air and shot it straight at the Farfetch'd, hitting the bird square in its chest, but also earning the ire in its eyes.

"Mienfoo!" Tim announced. "Pound that Baltoy!"

"Foo!" The Mienfoo nodded.

"Babel, counter the Pound with your Rapid Spin!" Vethrian called out.

"Ballltooyyyy" Babel began to gyrate and spin at an incredible speed as it rammed right into the Mienfoo's attack, knocking the fighting type back a couple paces from the unexpected kinetic force.

"Farfetch'd!" Tam called out. "Use Poison Jab on that little shit's Snorunt!"

"Farr!" The Farfetch'd's leek began to glow an unsavory violet color.

"Artemis!" Oswald called out as the Farfetch'd began to rush his pokemon. "Use Double-Team to dodge!"

"Sno-" Artemis began to multiply but was stopped short when she was hit directly with the bad end of Farfetch'd's stick. "Runnnt!" She wailed in pain.

"Venipede, let's get this Slugma out of the way so we can help out the others!" Tom yelled. "Use Rollout!"

"Peede!" The Venipede curled up into a ball and began rolling towards Leura.

"Leura!" Sylvia announced. "Use Ember! Make that bug drive itself right into the hellfire!"

"Sluggmaaaaa!" Leura glugged as she blew fire out from her mouth, engulfing the path that the Venipede was taking to get to her in a blaze of flames, which, while enough to slow the Rollout, wasn't quite enough to stop it completely, and the pokemon collided with each other.

"Snooo…" Artemis started to tense her Snorunt muscles, to the point where it was clear that she would devastate if she formed another Ice Shard, but also that she was equally easier to knock over should she herself get hit.

"What the hell is-" Sylvia looked over.

"That's Moody!" Vethrian informed the other two trainers. "Count yourself lucky, Oswald, not many Snorunt possess that ability, and it takes a rather cunning trainer to master it completely."

"Oh, I dunno about lucky, but I also won't look a gift Ponyta in the mouth! Artemis, Ice Shard one more time against the Farfetch'd!"

"RUUUUNNNT!" Artemis shrieked as she fired off another Ice Shard, knocking the Farfetch'd flying backwards, right back into its pokeball.

"Farfetch'd!" Tam lamented as he looked over at his two grunt companions.

"You guys better pull the rest of this off!"

"Mienfoo, Pound it for real this time!" Tim ordered through gritted teeth.

"Confusion, Babel!" Vethrian announced, and the Mienfoo was soon suspended by a pink aura in the air, struggling to break free before finally it was dropped to the ground.

"Mienfoo!" Tim called out.

"Fooo…" The Mienfoo began to waltz around drunkenly, clearly confused.

"Venipede, it's practically up to us!" Tom sighed. "You know what to do, Rollout number 2, let's go, even harder!"

"Leura, use Rock Throw from the rubble of the first Rollout!" Sylvia smiled.

"Slug…" Leura began to lift up the heated rocks "Maaa!" She tossed them towards the rolling Venipede, causing the bug to spin wildly out of control.

"Snoruntsno!" Artemis got jittery and looked at Oswald expectantly.

"Uh...okay…" Oswald, who was getting ready to bail on the fight, decided to heed his pokemon's wishes and stay a while longer. "Help them out with a Powder Snow on that Venipede! Finish it off!"

"Runtruntruntrunt!" Artemis blew a flurry of snow from her mouth, hardening the heated Venipede into unconsciousness.  
"Shit!" Tom cursed as he returned his pokemon.

"Mienfoo!" Tim announced. "Use Fake Out!"

"Foo?" The Mienfoo swung at itself in its confusion, and began to wobble even further.

"What a sorry display." Vethrian shook his head. "Babel, finish off this final goon with a Mud-Slap!"

"Baltoyyy!" Babel flung up some mud from underneath the dirt and knocked the Mienfoo over, as it too lost unconsciousness.

"Fuck, this was too many trainers at once!" Tim returned the Mienfoo.

"You're telling me!" Tam agreed.

"We're better at ambushing lone trainers. Why doesn't the boss get that?" Tom lamented.

"Listen!" Tam pointed as Tim and Tom began their retreat. "We're giving you an out this time, but we'll be back, with better tools, and more guys. You aren't safe, even for a second, you got that?"

"Yeah, yeah." Oswald jumped on the opportunity. "But the three of us, Vethrian Calderon, Sylvia T'Brohka, and Oswald Pamesi...we're a fucking _unit_! You can't stop us, we dare you to try!"

"Tch." Tam only clicked her tongue in response before running off to join his companions.

"What the hell was that about?!" Sylvia confronted Oswald. "First you _steal_ that Snorunt, and now you say that the three of us are a team? Yeah right, we're bringing you right back to Professor Chitalpa, right Vethrian?"

"To be frank…" Vethrian thought things over. "It might be better, now that he's given them our names, to stick with numbers. If any of us were to have taken on all three of them alone, we would've been in serious trouble, and they plan to come back with more grunts in tow. It'll help to be in a group of people looking out for each other so we aren't surprised again."

"I...Ugh…" Sylvia sighed. "_Fine_. I guess it'd be lonely to walk all around on my own anyways."

She quickly pointed at Oswald. "But we're _still_ going back to Professor Chitalpa first to explain the situation!"

"We can't stay in this place for that long-" Oswald began to protest. He wanted out of the dangerous area.

"Oh, it's too bad I already told her we were on our way back with you." Vethrian looked up from his pokedex.

"Wha-?! *Ahem* I mean, whatever, you guys can go back. I'll just meet you in Loza City!"  
"Well…" Sylvia leaned forwards towards Oswald. "If you go back, I'll give you a kiss…"

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Oswald's tune quickly changed.

Vethrian rose a brow at Sylvia. "Really?"

Sylvia snickered. "What did you want one too?"

"Not particularly." Vethrian caught himself blushing at the thought. "Just marvelling at how easily his tune changed. You sure you aren't in on whatever it is he's plotting?"

"I don't know or care what he's plotting, I _just_ want to go on a pokemon journey." Sylvia shrugged. "I have to become The Champion. It's really important to me that I do."

"Well, that's a bit of a problem." Oswald jumped back into the conversation. "See, my dear, _I_ will be the next Champion. I can't do what I need to do without that title."

Sylvia and Oswald began to playfully argue about which one would defeat the other in the finals as Vethrian led the way back to Professor Chitalpa's East Loza Town Lab. He stayed largely silent for the journey, though a knowing smile played across his face.

After all, it was _he_ who was destined to become the next Pokemon League Champion, and he was certain his reasons were just as good as, if not better than theirs. But why would he spoil their moment like that?

* * *

Next Time: Ep. 1: The Century Stones

* * *

Vethrian's Current Team:

Babel(Baltoy): Harden, Confusion, Rapid Spin, Mud-Slap (Ability: Levitate)

* * *

Sylvia's Current Team:

Leura(Slugma): Yawn, Smog, Ember, Rock Throw (Ability: Flame Body)

* * *

Oswald's Current Team:

Artemis(Snorunt): Powder Snow, Leer, Double Team, Ice Shard (Ability: Moody)


End file.
